Nominee Praises Marshall

July 10, 1991|The Baltimore Sun

WASHINGTON -- Clarence Thomas, nominated to be the nation`s second black Supreme Court justice, attempted on Tuesday to blunt criticism that he has turned his back on the civil rights community, crediting his rise from humble beginnings to its efforts.

``I have benefited greatly from the civil rights movement, from the justice for whom I am nominated to succeed,`` Thomas said in a reference to Thurgood Marshall, the nation`s first black Supreme Court justice who recently announced retirement plans.

Thomas` comments came as he spent another day paying courtesy calls on the senators who will approve or reject his candidacy.

Before reporters jammed into the office of Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., Thomas told the one-time segregationist how extremely fortunate he had been in his rise from rural poverty -- a path he credited the civil rights movement with clearing.

Many critics charge the conservative judge with abandoning the civil rights movement, a contention they justify on the basis of his opposition to traditional affirmative action remedies. In what appeared to be an effort to neutralize those accusations, Thomas mentioned the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as groups whose work helped him rise in the segregated South.

The NAACP has deferred taking a position on Thomas` nomination, saying it wants to study his record on civil rights and his tenure as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

On Tuesday, Thomas` supporters did not dwell on the nominee`s philosophical conservatism and instead sought to emphasize the almost storybook quality of his life.